Prices are usually 50%-200% higher here for groceries in my super market in Queens compared to grocery stores in San Antonio, Texas where I am from. And it is the cheapest one around that I found.

Of course things in general cost twice as much here compared to San Antonio. rent, housing, gas (well about 25 cents more), groceries, labor, driving (tolls vs no tolls), movie tickets, a night out at a reasonably nice restaurant (not even something fancy, just not mcdonalds).

The 2 big ones, labor + real estate costs are going to be a huge factor in the price of food at a super market compared with whatever small discount they might receive from a shorter distance from the port to the store. Not to mention that the US is a net exporter of food last i checked so not much of your food come in a ship from over seas, but a truck instead, though possibly and often from as far away as california.

Please let me know where you are finding a cheap grocery store in this city. Ditto for cheap anything.

DeadBugs writes: "The servers powering the online version of the new game Warhawk, are actually rack mounted Playstation 3s. In addition to being able to host the game on your own system, you can connect to these PS3 clusters for 24 or 32 player games. Additionally Warhawk will be released on both a standard Blu-ray disc or for about $20 less by downloading it from PSN."

Rio writes: A first-ever liquid hydrogen-powered luxury sedan was tested by NASA at Kennedy Space Center this week. The new BMW Hydrogen 7 sedan uses the same fuel powering the space shuttle to reduce CO2 emissions by 90 percent, according to a news release. "It is the high-energy density of liquid hydrogen that allows the space shuttle to be accelerated into space," said Karl Heinz Ziwica, vice president of engineering at BMW. "The same concept is used to power the BMW Hydrogen 7."

Robby Russell writes: "It appears that Kevin Carmony, CEO of Linspire, has left or stepped down days after the company signed a patent deal with Microsoft. News of the departure was spotted with the release of Freespire 2.0 earlier today when a press released mentioned a different CEO, Larry Kettler."

tinkertim writes: "What I am asking has been asked many times before.
I've noticed that people (in general, through my own dealings) seem to be growing increasingly impatient (seems more so over the last year).
I'd like to ask slashdot readers, simply, how long does it take before you feel that someone 'blew you off' by not replying to your e-mail and how upset do you get when this appears to happen?"

Swampash writes: "Johnson & Johnson, the health-products giant that uses a red cross as its trademark, is suing the American Red Cross, demanding the charity halt its use of the red cross symbol on products it sells to the public."

Chris Chiasson writes: "I was a little surprised to see that I was only using 7% of my Gmail storage capacity. Then I read all of the message: "You are currently using 680 MB (7%) of your 9030 MB." That's only 8.82 GiB, but I rounded up for the title. Anyone else?"

Anonymous writes: The Google Toolbar in Firefox is sending every URL I visit to Google, even though I'm not logged in to my Google account, even though I have a web history turned off for my account, and even though I have Safe Browsing/Enhanced Protection mode turned off (hidden away in Firefox's Tools > Options > Security > "Tell me if the site I'm visiting is suspected of forgery". I can see the URL transmitted to Google with the Live HTTP Headers Firefox plugin.

This is a Privacy and Security issue. The Google privacy policy clearly states in the first bullet that the Toolbar will not transmit URLs to Google unless I explicitly tell it to.

— Information we collect

* The Google Toolbar automatically sends only standard, limited information to Google, which may be retained in Google's server logs. It does not send any information about the web pages you visit ( e.g., the URL), unless you use Toolbar's advanced features or use Safe Browsing in Enhanced Protection mode. You do not need to provide any personal information in order to download and use the Google Toolbar. —

I have explicitly turned off all of these features, but it still sends URLs.

Here's an example: if I visit a web site like http://wikipedia.org/ , and Live HTTP Headers shows (some info masked):

Clearly, a request was sent to Google with my URL and Google accepted the request, in clear violation of their Privacy Policy. Worse yet, it sends the url in the clear! So if there is any session or security information on the URL, it is there for the world and Google to see.

Bryant writes: "What started out as an idea to group or "swarm" people together to buy health insurance has now become eSwarm.com http://www.eswarm.com/ a creative internet platform to purchase anything, from health insurance and prescription drugs to IPods. eSwarm is a small Boulder, Colorado based internet company hoping to bring buyers and suppliers together, as well as give back to charities.
Through harnessing the buying power of large, like-minded tightly-knit groups, eSwarm intends to become the world's pre-eminent demand driven platform. By coordinating individual purchases into bulk orders, eSwarm allows individuals to receive volume discounts without actually having to buy in volume. In addition, eSwarm provides charities and organizations with an innovative fundraising tool. It accomplishes this by allowing creators of swarms to stipulate that a percentage of the total sale is donated to their charity of choice. eSwarm has created a whole new unique way of purchasing online. eSwarm officially went live on Tuesday, July 10 at 10:07am.
"The excitement exploded into cheers when eSwarm launched," CEO Tim Newcomb said. "eSwarm is not an e-commerce site, but a global economic revolution."
How it works
Buyers — or swarmers, as eSwarm.com calls them — log onto the website and register for a free account and within minutes they can begin to join current swarms. The swarms can range from nearly any consumer good, debt refinancing, pre-paid gift and debit cards, to even affordable health insurance.
If there's nothing that interests you then start your own swarm for the product or service you want. In creating your own swarm you get to choose your price and terms as well as pick the charity of your choice to benefit from the swarm.
Go out and promote your swarm, because the more people that join your swarm the more goes to your charity and to you. Once the swarm has grown and is soon to end, then sit back and watch your BidBattle begin between different suppliers wanting to fulfill your swarm from all over the world.
Still don't get it? Go to eSwarm.com and click on the How it Works tab.
Interested in being a supplier? Log onto eSwarm.com and register.
This idea has potential to revolutionize how people spend their money, and not just online. Why buy a product in a store when you can buy it on eSwarm, which benefits local, national or even global charities. Much of the eSwarm anticipation has been a result of the recent Chinese craze, tuangou, or team buying. Today dozens of team buying websites exist in China that unite consumers looking to purchase the same items and then set up dates and times to meet at the various retailers to demand volume discounts.
"The latest buying craze in China excites us," Newcomb said. "It gives our organization just another reason to believe that our timing is better than ever.""

AJ writes: The heat is rising in Alaska! FBI and the IRS raid Sen. Ted Stevens home in Alaska. No comment from anyone yet, of course, but it looks like the justice department is not just turning up the heat on Vick.

Ernesto writes: "BitLet is a web-based Java applet that allows you to download.torrent files on a computer that doesn't have a BitTorrent client installed. Very useful if you want to share a torrent with your BitTorrent illiterate friends, or if you're on a computer that doesn't have a BitTorrent client installed."

Harmony writes: When the RIAA sued Sgt. Nicholas Paternoster, it included a screenshot of a shared folder with over 4,600 files — some of which were pornographic images unrelated to the case. Last week, the RIAA got permission from a judge to, as a 'professional courtesy,' swap out the original exhibit for one with only the 350+ songs the defendant is accused of sharing on Kazaa. The RIAA's carelessness may come back to haunt it, however: 'After the suit was filed — and the exhibit made public — Sgt. Paternoster decided to fight back, filing a counterclaim accusing the RIAA of violating his privacy and seeking to "shame Counter-Plaintiff... into giving in to their unreasonable demands regarding their copyrighted materials."'